Theology and Culture: a theoblog for creativity, pop culture and God stuff http://www.jeffkeuss.com/blog kicking at the darkness till it bleeds daylight… Fri, 29 Mar 2013 19:24:00 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 Word of the day: ‘godforsakenness’ – Bonhoeffer on Good Friday http://www.jeffkeuss.com/blog/2013/03/word-of-the-day-godforsakenness-bonhoeffer-on-good-friday/ http://www.jeffkeuss.com/blog/2013/03/word-of-the-day-godforsakenness-bonhoeffer-on-good-friday/#comments Fri, 29 Mar 2013 19:24:00 +0000 senseijfk http://www.jeffkeuss.com/blog/?p=1495 A few years back, Stephen Colbert made news by making a new word – ‘truthiness’ – and successfully entering the word into the cultural zeitgeist.  Often we find ourselves at an impasse of reason and emotion where language shows its limits and the ‘perfect’ word to express our deepest thoughts, fears, and emotions escape us.

Good Friday has always been such a time.

I honestly never know how to feel … There's more to read here.

]]> http://www.jeffkeuss.com/blog/2013/03/word-of-the-day-godforsakenness-bonhoeffer-on-good-friday/feed/ 0 Valentine’s Day – Pablo Neruda’s “Sweetness, Always” http://www.jeffkeuss.com/blog/2013/02/valentines-day-pablo-nerudas-sweetness-always/ http://www.jeffkeuss.com/blog/2013/02/valentines-day-pablo-nerudas-sweetness-always/#comments Thu, 14 Feb 2013 23:20:36 +0000 senseijfk http://www.jeffkeuss.com/blog/?p=1492 I can think of no better poet to capture the simplicity of love quite like Pablo Neruda.  On this Valentine’s Day I offer you one of my favorite love poems which on the surface is not a love poem I suppose, but a call to simplicity, lightness of heart and a willingness to put away the “harsh machinery” of overt sentimentality and simply give from the heart:

Sweetness, Always – Pablo … There's more to read here.

]]> http://www.jeffkeuss.com/blog/2013/02/valentines-day-pablo-nerudas-sweetness-always/feed/ 0 “It begins with a inarticulate groan…”: a prayer for my students this term http://www.jeffkeuss.com/blog/2013/01/it-begins-with-a-inarticulate-groan-a-prayer-for-my-students-this-term/ http://www.jeffkeuss.com/blog/2013/01/it-begins-with-a-inarticulate-groan-a-prayer-for-my-students-this-term/#comments Fri, 04 Jan 2013 05:23:41 +0000 senseijfk http://www.jeffkeuss.com/blog/?p=1481 Every term begins with a flurry of activity: making lists, checking over student rosters, printing syllabi, making sure textbooks are available, updating library books on hold, loading up files onto blackboard, etc.

When I step into the class each new term, I am reminded that for some students, a theology course can be nerve jangling – wrestling with deep questions of self, God, tradition, family heritage, and other challenging topics … There's more to read here.

]]> http://www.jeffkeuss.com/blog/2013/01/it-begins-with-a-inarticulate-groan-a-prayer-for-my-students-this-term/feed/ 0 Christmas albums to enjoy this holiday http://www.jeffkeuss.com/blog/2012/12/christmas-albums-to-enjoy-this-holiday/ http://www.jeffkeuss.com/blog/2012/12/christmas-albums-to-enjoy-this-holiday/#comments Mon, 24 Dec 2012 17:48:43 +0000 senseijfk http://www.jeffkeuss.com/blog/?p=1477 Sooo… let’s talk Christmas CDs! Here is a short list of Christmas discs spinning through my iPod this season – I would love to hear from you as to your sonic holiday cheer:

Over The Rhine – “The Darkest Night of the Year” and “Snow Angels”(the former for ‘dark night of the Christmas soul’, the latter for Christmas cheer with your favorite special someone)
Bruce Cockburn – “Christmas” (this … There's more to read here.

]]> http://www.jeffkeuss.com/blog/2012/12/christmas-albums-to-enjoy-this-holiday/feed/ 0 It Came Upon a Minor Key: the theology of “Midnight Clear” that moves Advent from a major to minor key http://www.jeffkeuss.com/blog/2012/12/it-came-upon-a-minor-key-the-theology-of-midnight-clear-that-moves-advent-from-a-major-to-minor-key/ http://www.jeffkeuss.com/blog/2012/12/it-came-upon-a-minor-key-the-theology-of-midnight-clear-that-moves-advent-from-a-major-to-minor-key/#comments Fri, 21 Dec 2012 19:01:32 +0000 senseijfk http://www.jeffkeuss.com/blog/?p=1089 Some of my favorite Christmas carols are those penned in the nineteenth century.  Perhaps due to my work as a Victorianist during my PhD studies, my love of steam punk, the genius of novelist George Eliot, all things Charles Dickens and a form of Anglophilia that peers over Hadrian’s Wall from bonnie Scotland with an eye to England with wonder coupled with furrowed brow, the Victorian period continues to stir a rich … There's more to read here.

]]> http://www.jeffkeuss.com/blog/2012/12/it-came-upon-a-minor-key-the-theology-of-midnight-clear-that-moves-advent-from-a-major-to-minor-key/feed/ 0 5 things to remember as you going shopping in the mall: your two minutes of sanity http://www.jeffkeuss.com/blog/2012/12/5-things-to-remember-as-you-going-shopping-in-the-mall-your-two-minutes-of-sanity/ http://www.jeffkeuss.com/blog/2012/12/5-things-to-remember-as-you-going-shopping-in-the-mall-your-two-minutes-of-sanity/#comments Tue, 18 Dec 2012 01:28:53 +0000 senseijfk http://www.jeffkeuss.com/blog/?p=1459 I was walking through a shopping mall today (my least favorite activity) and in the midst of all the noise, sparkle, clatter and shoving of the holiday madness I thought  ”there needs to be some guide for all this to help me make some sense and sanity of all this consumerism.”

I am not offering a “stop being a consumer!” guilt trip and you can find many blogs to help you there. … There's more to read here.

]]> http://www.jeffkeuss.com/blog/2012/12/5-things-to-remember-as-you-going-shopping-in-the-mall-your-two-minutes-of-sanity/feed/ 0 Gun Amnesty Sunday = Mary’s Sunday : a call to churches for the 3rd Sunday of Advent http://www.jeffkeuss.com/blog/2012/12/gun-amnesty-sunday-marys-sunday-a-call-to-churches-for-the-3rd-sunday-of-advent/ http://www.jeffkeuss.com/blog/2012/12/gun-amnesty-sunday-marys-sunday-a-call-to-churches-for-the-3rd-sunday-of-advent/#comments Sat, 15 Dec 2012 19:37:07 +0000 senseijfk http://www.jeffkeuss.com/blog/?p=1446 Everyone has been absolutely gutted by another mass shooting in America this week that claimed the lives of young children and gifted teachers in Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut.   Thousands have taken to the social media outlets pledging their prayers, thoughts, rage and tears over this tragedy which marks the 16th mass shooting in the United States this year.

This coming Sunday is the 3rd Sunday of Advent which … There's more to read here.

]]> http://www.jeffkeuss.com/blog/2012/12/gun-amnesty-sunday-marys-sunday-a-call-to-churches-for-the-3rd-sunday-of-advent/feed/ 2 Top 10 Albums of 2012 http://www.jeffkeuss.com/blog/2012/12/top-10-albums-of-2012/ http://www.jeffkeuss.com/blog/2012/12/top-10-albums-of-2012/#comments Fri, 14 Dec 2012 17:59:29 +0000 senseijfk http://www.jeffkeuss.com/blog/?p=1396 Hard to believe that it is *that* time of year again, but here we are closing out 2012 and with it comes the attempt to tier the music that has overwhelmed (and at times underwhelmed) our hearts and souls these past 12 months.  It has been a year with some surprises to be sure – from the horse dancing glee of Psy with “Gangnam Style” to the recent (so-called) reunion of Nirvana … There's more to read here.

]]> http://www.jeffkeuss.com/blog/2012/12/top-10-albums-of-2012/feed/ 5 The heartbreaking work of love – Psalm 51 and why reading Scripture matters to hard hearts http://www.jeffkeuss.com/blog/2012/10/the-heartbreaking-work-of-love-psalm-51-and-why-reading-scripture-matters-to-hard-hearts/ http://www.jeffkeuss.com/blog/2012/10/the-heartbreaking-work-of-love-psalm-51-and-why-reading-scripture-matters-to-hard-hearts/#comments Wed, 24 Oct 2012 04:09:05 +0000 senseijfk http://www.jeffkeuss.com/blog/?p=1375 A friend just sent me this wonderful rabbinical reflection:

“A rabbi told his people that if they studied the Torah, it would put Scripture on their hearts. One of them asked, “Why on our hearts, and not in them?” The rabbi answered, “Only G-D can put Scripture inside. But reading sacred text can put in on your heart and then when your heart breaks, the holy words will fall inside.”

… There's more to read here.
]]> http://www.jeffkeuss.com/blog/2012/10/the-heartbreaking-work-of-love-psalm-51-and-why-reading-scripture-matters-to-hard-hearts/feed/ 0 “So… who are you voting for, Pastor?” A plea for transparency and opinion from Christian leadership http://www.jeffkeuss.com/blog/2012/10/so-who-are-you-voting-for-pastor-a-plea-for-transparency-and-opinion-from-christian-leadership/ http://www.jeffkeuss.com/blog/2012/10/so-who-are-you-voting-for-pastor-a-plea-for-transparency-and-opinion-from-christian-leadership/#comments Thu, 18 Oct 2012 21:04:33 +0000 senseijfk http://www.jeffkeuss.com/blog/?p=1361

 

This past week the world was in awe of Felix Baumgartner’s historic 23 mile high jump to earth.  The video showing Baumgartner stepping out of his capsule and speeding at up to 700 miles an hour was something to behold.

When it comes to the election season coming to a close in the next two weeks, I would like to challenge Christian leaders to do something similar … There's more to read here.

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